MCCORMICK v. Serafina Reda, Defendant–Respondent. (2018)

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Fernando Tapia, J.), entered on or about April 26, 2017, which granted the motion of defendant Serafina Reda for summary judgment dismissing the complaint as against her, unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs, and the motion denied.

Plaintiff alleges that she tripped and fell over a gap between flagstones on a public sidewalk abutting property owned by Reda, and south of a bus shelter maintained by defendant City. Under Administrative Code of City of N.Y. § 7–210, an abutting property owner has a duty to maintain the public sidewalk (Bronfman v. East Midtown Plaza Hous. Co., Inc., 151 A.D.3d 639, 58 N.Y.S.3d 337 [1st Dept. 2017] ), but the City continues to be responsible for maintaining any part of the sidewalk that is “within a designated bus stop location” (Bednark v. City of New York, 127 A.D.3d 403, 404, 7 N.Y.S.3d 75 [1st Dept. 2015];  see also Bednark v. City of New York, 162 A.D.3d 565, 80 N.Y.S.3d 223 [1st Dept. 2018] ).

In support of her motion for summary judgment, Reda submitted evidence, including photographs showing where plaintiff fell near a bus shelter and next to a yellow-marked curb, and the City's admission that it owns the bus stop pole shown in a photograph.  However, absent any applicable statute or any evidence defining the parameters of a bus stop, a triable issue of fact exists as to whether the part of the sidewalk where plaintiff fell is within a designated bus stop that the City is required to maintain (see Munasca v. Morrison Mgt. LLC, 111 A.D.3d 564, 975 N.Y.S.2d 402 [1st Dept. 2013];  compare Phillips v. Atlantic–Hudson, Inc., 105 A.D.3d 639, 963 N.Y.S.2d 582 [1st Dept. 2013] ).